Stoneham residents plead not guilty to Medford Little League theft

The former president and treasurer of West Medford Little League pleaded not guilty to charges of larceny for allegedly stealing more than $50,000 from the league.

Stanley Komins and his son, Stephen Komins, both of Stoneham, were arraigned in Somerville District Court, Jan. 4.

Christopher Hurley /churley@wickedlocal.com

The former president and treasurer of West Medford Little League pleaded not guilty to charges of larceny for allegedly stealing more than $50,000 from the league.

Stanley Komins and his son, Stephen Komins, both of Stoneham, were arraigned in Somerville District Court, Jan. 4.

Stanley Komins, 78, was president of the board of directors of the West Medford Little League for more than 20 years. He has been charged with larceny by embezzlement over $250.

Stephen Komins, 45, who held the position of treasurer for many years, was charged with larceny by embezzlement over $250, uttering a false check and forgery by check.

Assistant District Attorney Lila Palmer said both men are accused of allegedly stealing in upwards of $50,000 from West Medford Little League.

Judge Neil Walker set a trial date for Friday, Feb. 8 at Somerville District Court at 9 a.m. Both men were also ordered to surrender their passports to the court by Jan. 7.

The Komins, who will be defended by court-appointed attorney Brian Donegan, declined to comment while leaving the court house.

Donegan also declined comment.

Heady charges

Authorities allege between April 2007 and October 2011, Stanley Komins allegedly wrote checks, payable to himself, from the little league account, for which he was not authorized.

Prosecutors said he would cash or deposit these checks in his personal bank account, embezzling $38,000.

In addition, between May 2009 and September 2011, Stanley Komins reportedly purchased items from BJ’s Wholesale Club using checks drawn from the little league account, even though some of the items purchased were not related to the operation of the league.

An investigation further revealed Stephen Komins allegedly cashed checks from the league for his own personal use. It is alleged between December 2007 and July 2009, Stephen Komins wrote checks to himself from the league account, cashing a total of approximately $4,000.

Around March 2011 to May 2011, authorities say Stephen Komins would write checks to a friend from the league account. The friend would cash the checks and give the cash back to Stephen Komins.

Additionally, Stephen Komins reportedly purchased personal items from BJ’s Wholesale Club with checks drawn from the league account. None of these items was for the operation of the little league.

It is also alleged by authorities that both Stanley and Stephen Komins took cash proceeds from the West Medford Little League refreshment stand, which was operated by one of the Komins during games.

The Komins were responsible for depositing the cash from the snack stand into the league’s bank account. However, deposits made into the account were inconsistent with the expected revenues from the snack stand.

Further, records revealed deposits to Stanley Komins personal bank account coincided with the seasonal operation of the refreshment stand and the currency deposited was consistent with snack stand transactions.

“This father and son allegedly used their leadership positions to steal from the youth little league, taking money that was meant to be used for the West Medford youth baseball community for their own personal use,” said Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone, in a statement on Dec. 27. “The defendants violated the trust of parents, players and the community.”

Around October 2011, Stanley Komins announced his retirement from the little league board. As a result, the board inquired about the league’s finances and Komins refused to provide past records.

An auditing firm was hired by the league and noticed discrepancies in the little league records. The Medford Police Department was contacted and, in conjunction with the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office, launched an investigation.

Accounting issues

During a general parent meeting Jan. 3 at Medford High School, West Medford Little League President John D’Orazio led off the evening by addressing the issue

“It’s in the hands of the justice system,” D’Orazio said. “Let’s see how it plays out.”

D’Orazio said the new board immediately ran into accounting issues after taking the reigns in October 2011.

“The league was in the red, so that was a red flag,” D’Orazio said. “We owed $2,000-3,000 and only had $109 in the account. That was a red flag, but it wasn’t the end of the world. We were just trying to get to the bottom of the finances with Stan.”

D’Orazio added the elder Komins appeared uncooperative.

“[Stan] didn’t really want to be too transparent with regards to reviewing the checking account,” D’Orazio noted. “He just wanted us to open a new checking account and give us the $109 and kind of go away.”

Since it was the league’s account, board members pushed Komins on this front wanting to know exactly what the league revenue was, asking for various expense reports and documentation regarding the account for the past two seasons.

D’Orazio added the issue came to a head when Komins allegedly stormed out of a meeting, prompting the league to take closer inspection of their books.

They didn’t like what they found.

Based on documents from the banks and statements from the league’s account with BJ’s Wholesale Club, board members spotted some alleged irregularities going back over four years.

D’Orazio and his board took the information to an independent auditor and a forensic accountant, who analyzed the statements, to determine if they were legitimate Little League expenses.

They then turned the information over to the authorities.

“The Board [of Directors] did what was the right thing to do,” D’Orazio said.

In the meantime, West Medford Hillside Little League filed a claim for misappropriation of funds. The league was able to recoup $35,000 off its insurance, which it put to immediate use purchasing a new sound system, batting cage, pitching machine and storage container.

“We’re trying to clean up where the Komins left us,” D’Orazio said. “Its unfortunate, certainly a violation of public trust that you have with the Komins running the Little League. I think there may have been a sense of entitlement, but Stan or Steve could talk more to what their thoughts were with how they ran the league, but it certainly seemed to be inappropriate.

“We’re trying to move on, be more transparent with the parents and who else wants to be involved,” he added.